Tom Kindre, creator of Rutgers Oral History Archives, to be remembered with special memorial

Tom Kindre, a World War II veteran from Rahway and an alumnus of Rutgers, died at the age of 91 and will be memorialized at the University.

Rutgers Oral History ArchivesTom Kindre Celebrates World War II Memorial at Voorhees Mall in 2008

NEW BRUNSWICK —Tom Kindre, a World War II veteran from Rahway and an alumnus of Rutgers, class of 1938, died last week at the age of 91. The creator of Rutgers renowned Oral History Archives, the school is remembering Kindre in a special memorial being held on Sunday October 14th at noon in Kirkpatrick Chapel.

Inspired by the work of Studs Terkel, the famed oral historian, and aided by Pulitzer-Prize winning author-historian Stephen Ambrose while he was a visiting professor, Kindre began the ROHA in order to preserve the experiences of his classmates. The ROHA grew intensely over the years and it now invests time in collecting and maintaining the personal stories of thousands of Rutgers alumnae, faculty, staff and New Jerseyans from all walks of life.

Ken Branson from the school's Media Relations office remarked, "He had no illusions about the reality of war, did not romanticize it, and had no wish to re-live it. He was tremendously proud of his service, and prouder still of his classmates' service. He was grateful for every day of life, never forgetting what a huge hole World War II tore in his class. The names of his classmates who did not come back from the war are on the World War II Memorial at Rutgers largely because Tom and his fellow survivors worked so hard to build that memorial." The memorial Kindre raised the money for and helped get built is now at Voorhees Mall. He also founded the Society's Stephen Ambrose Oral History Award, whose recipients have included filmmaker/documentarians Steven Spielberg and Ken Burns.

Kindre earned five Battle Stars during his time with the 34th Infantry Division in Italy and North Africa during WWII. He is survived by his wife, two children and two grandchildren, as well as numerous publications and lectures and thousands of hours of stories that would otherwise have been buried with their storytellers.